Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Lee Werrett
Maggots appeal to all coarse species and the feeder is a great winter tactic. Lee Werrett combines the two for great catches in the cold
A maggot feeder revival
It’s no secret that fishing the feeder has boomed in recent years.
First, it was Method- style inventions that began to dominate the commercial scene, before a blast from the past made a reappearance as cage and block- end versions started to be used during the rebirth of more natural waters.
But there are one or two styles of feeder that have seemingly been forgotten by the majority of anglers .
the maggot feeder appears to have fallen into this category, being dismissed on waters where it was once among the first options to be called upon. Quite why it has suffered such a fall from grace is a mystery because those who still include it in their armoury certainly aren’t struggling for action.
Lee Werrett is among those that still rely on it to put a bend in the rod from carp and F1s and believes you need to give it some serious attention if you want to boost winter catches.
Winter winner
If you had to pick one bait that would guarantee a few fish in the middle of a cold snap then maggots would come out on top.
they appeal to a wide range of species, enabling you to get bites from smaller silverfish before the water temperature creeps up a touch and bigger specimens become interested.
“Pellets are a little more selective but at this time of year I like to give myself the best chance of getting plenty of bites,” said the Middy and Bait- tech- backed angler.
“It’s important to be patient, casting every 10 to 15 minutes to build up a little carpet of bait that will eventually trigger a response.
“the other beauty of maggots is that they are less likely to overfeed the fish. If you put in too many pellets you could kill your chances in an instant but maggots have a lower food content.”
In a five- hour session Lee rarely casts more than 30 times and that equates to less than a pint of bait – a very cheap £ 2-£ 3 day indeed!
Streamlined success
Accuracy is vital at this time of year. If you spread loosefeed over a large area you’ll disperse the fish, reducing your chances of them finding your hookbait.
In order to make sure he hits the same spot every time, Lee clips up the mainline on his reel and also chooses a feeder that makes casting even easier.
“A thin, streamlined feeder that has all the weight at the front will fly like a bullet and hit the same spot every time if you line up with a far bank marker. I’ve found that the Middy Nano Speed Cap Feeders are best – there’s no doubt they help your accuracy.”
The feeders come in three different sizes and Lee has the trio to hand, rotating between them as the day goes on to moderate the amount of bait going into the peg.
He will start with the 21g version – the biggest – to get a little bait down, dropping to the smaller versions after a few chucks.
Take your chances
If the tip goes round you have done the hard work in tempting a bite but now’s the time to finish the job and make sure it ends up in the net.
“It’s important to use terminal tackle that strikes a balance between fooling the fish into taking the bait and then making sure it is tough enough to survive the battle.
“I use 6.6lb mainline to a 5.2lb hooklength and a strong yet small size 20 hook. My hooklength is around 18in long which is the perfect distance to keep the hookbait away from the feeder – which fish can back away from – without being too far from the loosefeed,” he said.
Top Pool at Warwickshire’s Tunnel Barn Farm is full of F1s and many of the features in the middle are beyond pole range.
A gentle lob put him just off the corner of an island and into water deep enough to hold fish in cold conditions. It was instantly clear fish were present as the tip tapped regularly but these were line bites and it was Lee’s job to convert them into proper wrap rounds.
Two casts – which both last 15 minutes each – were made before he was in action on the third, with a 2lb F1 falling foul of the double maggot hookbait.
Confident that a few fish would now switch on, he changed to the smallest feeder that took less than 20 maggots at a time.
“I now want to reduce the amount of loosefeed so that it increases the chances of those feeding fish taking my hookbait.”
Action was never going to be fast and furious in such bitter conditions but Lee averaged four or five F1s every hour, ending the day with around 30lb in the net.
“These fish really haven’t wanted to feed today. Had I chucked a Method feeder loaded with pellets I’d have definitely filled them up, even using the tiniest version on the market.
“The pole would also have failed to live up to this result as the fish wanted to be in the middle. The maggot feeder largely forgotten but now is the time to put it into action on your favourite commercial.”